Christopher Barounos and his classmates, the 2011 seniors of Steamboat Springs High School, toss their caps in the air Saturday as they celebrate at the end of their graduation ceremony at the high school.

Steamboat Springs High School graduates celebrate their futures

Pio Utu speaks on Saturday at the Steamboat Springs High School graduation ceremony.

Photo by Joel Reichenberger

Erik Owen flashes a thumbs up on Saturday after receiving his diploma at Steamboat Springs High School.

Photo by Joel Reichenberger

Coleman Holloway celebrates after receiving his diploma on Saturday in Steamboat Springs.

Photo by Joel Reichenberger

Jake Bearss, left, and Alexander Bashan prepare to flip the tassels at the end of Saturday's high school graduation ceremony in Steamboat Springs.

Steamboat Springs  As 160 Steamboat Springs High School graduates filed out of the gymnasium Saturday afternoon, they unzipped their gowns, handing them back to school faculty as their last act as SSHS students.

But they never shed their smiles.

There were whoops of joy and hugs among the graduates, who embodied the gravity and excitement present throughout the two-hour preceding ceremony.

“I’m just so stoked,” said Alex Bashan, giddily smiling with two of his best friends.

Next to him, graduate Jack Massey said what he learned in

high school most of all was a strong work ethic and he will miss the faculty that was “really cool to us.”

Meghan Lukens said the moment was bittersweet as she hurried to meet her mother.

“It’s really awesome right now, but I think we’ll miss all being together,” she said. “We’ve been working toward this for our whole lives.”

The group of 160 graduated in a gymnasium filled to its brim with eager parents craning cameras to capture the milestone event.

The class’ student council of Lukens, Shelby Struble, Michael Savory and Kendall McGill sat on stage and introduced the speakers, with Savory and Jeff Sperry selected to speak for the students.

The Class of 2011 also chose Pio Utu, an SSHS volunteer of nearly three decades, to deliver the honorary speech, knowing full well that the friend and mentor of many has the capability to speak at great length.

And that he did — for nearly 30 minutes — as he detailed educational experiences of his past in Samoa, sang a Samoan blessing, outlined life metaphors and offered heartfelt, profound advice to the students he mentored through their years in Steamboat Springs.

“Since you were little, you’ve been blessed,” he said. “Every single one of you has had wired in a special gift that makes you different than anyone else that sits beside you. It’s up to you to use it. Either you use it as a weapon or you use it as a tool.”

He reminded the students to remember simple words of respect such as “please,” “excuse me” and “thank you.”

And he told them to move forward from that day with the fire of love, compassion and knowledge burning within, using past experiences, family and friends as the fuel.

“Be brave, be humble, be awake,” he said. “Take each step like it’s your first one. If you fall, like I know you will, when a kind hand reaches out and pulls you up, say, ‘Thank you.’ It might not give you a full life, but it will give you a start.”

After turning their tassels, the class performed the age-old ritual that Sperry described in his speech as when “we celebrate how smart we are by throwing sharp objects into the air.”

And after that, breathless with excitement, they went to meet their proud and sometimes tearful families.

In his speech, Savory left his fellow students with memories of their senior year and a sunny outlook on the future of the class he claimed was known as “angelic.”

“It doesn’t matter what we have or haven’t done, right or maybe wrong, most all of us know where we’re going and what we’re going to do, and it’s what we do from now on that truly matters,” Savory said. “As we finish this chapter of our life, write it how you want to. Pick up a few different colored pens if you must, but most importantly, keep writing.”